Hotspots: Blue Chalk Café

Hot on the heels of Valley hotspot #1 is the second in our series of meatspace site reviews. Larry from The Dating Report explains how to pick up an intern in downtown Palo Alto's roomy bar and grill.

Ahh, summer in the bay area. Silicon Valley hosts a migration of college students returning back for break or a fresh flock enters for internships. Where is their favorite weekend spot? Palo Alto's Blue Chalk Café.

We're NOT talking about the mid-week crowd that schmoozefests like STIRR/Under the Radar/SVASE/WVAC wrangle up. We ARE talking about WEEKEND people like 'Melissa' from University of Michigan class of 2004. True story, when I was there two Fridays ago collecting "mall flavored" feedback she came up and mistook me for "Brian," a 2004 MIT grad. Either Blue Chalk is very dark or I have an Irish twin running around (if Irish twins can be staggered by 7 years and Asian).

The feel: There's a decidedly middle-state feel to the bar. On Fridays they clear the tables and a DJ spins by the fireplace.

The crowd: The crowd ranges from SV-weathered to fresh-in-from-Michigan. If you're shopping for an au pair, there are packs fresh from Europe.

The crew: The bar tending staff is great but maybe it's cuz the crowd there tends to be generous.

What kind of talk goes down? Question #2 out of the chute is the dreaded "Where do you work." It's not gold digging as much as it is a genuine curiosity about Valley opportunities.

Don't get stuck with: Crazy Indian guy dancer. He wears a parka even when it's 70. He grinds everyone and has the ability to clear entire sections of a packed dance floor. The bad news gets worse as his alcohol intake rises. The sliver of good news is that he rampages without a crew.

Act like a regular: Get there early and order the 16 oz Rib-eye RARE. Get a table upstairs so y'all can take in a ballgame on the flatscreens and watch the crowd swell downstairs over dessert.

The crowd on Friday nights is decidedly sub-26, so go shop Abercrombie and wear your flops to fit right in. I like going as my alias, "Larry" from "The Dating Report" dot com. Going with my alias' expert skills in computing a FICO-like score for dating gets me past question #2 and can even land an introduction to her friends. If you go, dream up your own alias, because the crystal-ball-wielding dating site CEO persona is taken.